PALADINI Q & A at QPR - Interesting reading

PALADINI Q & A

QPR.CO.UK invited fans to send in their questions for QPR Chairman Gianni Paladini to answer.

We had a tremendous response and Paladini got through as many questions as possible. Many of the questions were similar, in that instance only one question of a particular subject was used.

Thank you to all fans who took the time to send in their questions.

The club is looking into the possibility of staging a fans forum in the near future.

What made you want to invest in Queens Park Rangers, even though we are best team in London and the Championship?
Daniel, Watford

I was initially interested in Port Vale but that fell through. I first heard about QPR through my accountant and I went to the game against Wycombe where it was very windy and we came back from 2-0 down. I met Bill Power at the game and I got hooked. The club then asked me to help out and I did.

How much money will Holloway have in the transfer window and will we buy Lloyd Dyer?
Andrew Platoon

If we are in a promising position in January then we will try and give Ian Holloway as much help as we can. We are looking at sorting out a new scouting set up, so hopefully we can bring some more players in January. Ian really likes Lloyd Dyer and we are talking to his people.

Do you think that Ian Holloway has taken the club as far as he can, and do we need a manager that will be able to take us to the next level?
Mark Horton

I think Ian is the man to take us forward, that's why we gave him a three year contract. Ian is a very good manager and I think he is the man to take us forward.

Our relationship is very good, we speak everyday. I have commented on our relationship very often. I love Ian.

How much truth was there in the rumour of Ramon Diaz coming to Rangers?
William Wall

When I first joined I didn't know Ian Holloway. My friend Ramon Diaz came to watch our matches but he couldn't work for us anyway due to work permits. But once I got to know Ian then I knew he was the man for the job.

Where do you see QPR in three years time?
Paul Downs

First of all we need to clear our debts; we only took over from the October 1 and we found out we owed more than we originally thought. You need solid foundations, I'd love us to go up this year or next year, but we have to be realistic and budget accordingly.

When we first took over there was a big outstanding tax bill and Caliendo and I had to go down to Brighton to stop us going into Liquidation. We had to give our personal guarantee that the bill would be paid.

When we found out you can imagine our panic. The first thing you have to do as a company is pay the tax man as they can wind you up.

Regarding the loan - it appears to me very easy and without access to the financial side at QPR, I guess I can only make assumptions. Are there negotiations taking place with solicitors, lenders and ABC in order to either re-negotiate with ABC or a high street lender?
John Hardman

We are arranging a new loan with the Lloyds TSB. The directors will give their personal guarantee on the loan. We hope to get an interest rate between 5.75% to 6%. Depending on the final interest rate we will save between £400-425k per year.

Can you please explain how the club are aiming to (re)attract fans after Christmas or next season? In view of our average gates going down by a couple of thousand, how are you going to get fans back and especially the younger ones?
Mark Jamieson

It was a mistake to raise the children's season tickets prices so high. We are currently preparing our prices for next season and I am speaking to fans' groups. The main areas we will look at are children's prices. But I want to stress that these are only discussions we are having and it is still at an early stage.

What is the truth behind the stories that you signed players over the head of Holloway?
Jools

My background is an agent and I know many players. We couldn't afford many players in England so we looked abroad. I brought over Milanese, Nygaard and Ukah. Ian Holloway was able to look at them before they were signed.

An awful lot of people seem to have left the Rangers behind the scenes staff. Are you sure that the club can function with so few behind the scenes?
David Price

We have reduced the staff wage bill. You need to balance your income with your overheads.

QPR is a great club but it is not a massive one. We only have 20 odd big events a year - our home games. During the week we have a small number of staff working very hard. Much of what we do now is online anyway, such as ticket sales.

You are on record as saying that QPR are looking to build a new stadium on the pitches in South Africa Road. How can QPR afford this?

A new 30,000 seater stadium would probably cost over £40m and the combination of what you might get for the existing site and the debt you could (safely) raise against the extra seat income doesn't look to me to be anything like enough to pay for it.
Mick Beaman

Every day I get people offering me things. Six months ago we were approached by a company that built Leyton Orient's ground. They wanted to build us a new ground next to Loftus Road. I told them to investigate it as it was not costing the club any money just to have a look.

If you own a Jaguar and someone offers you a Rolls-Royce for free you'd be silly not to look. The deal would mean a 30,000 all-seater stadium, our £10 million loan would be paid off and we'd also have £5 million in cash. I think you would agree we'd be silly not to look at it. But I don't want fans to get too excited, this is just one of many offers I get everyday.

I was also approached by Brian Rowe who heads up a group of people. He thinks a new ground can be built in Shepherds Bush, so I told him to have a look. Once again it isn't costing the club any money just to investigate.

If something ever does materialise then we wouldn't leave Loftus Road until the new stadium was built. I'd also like to investigate the possibility of upgrading the current stadium but until we have paid off our debt we just cannot afford to do it.

Are there firm plans to invest more money in QPR so that we can be more of a challenge in this Division?
Paul Downs

Firstly none of the investors are a new Roman Abramovich. We need to raise more revenue by improving on current deals, for example we want to increase the amount we get from sponsorship. We are bringing the loss down every year and within a few years we hope to break even. Then we can really move forward.

At the beginning of this season, season ticket prices went up massively despite the fact that match ticket prices stayed the same. For my full season ticket in the Lower Loft I pay £19.22 per game. Now, in the run up to Christmas you are offering half season tickets at a cost of £18.00 per game for the same area of the ground.

It appears to me that loyal full season ticket holder supporters are getting 'stung' in every way possible.

Can you explain why Season ticket holders are getting treated like this, because I am sure I am not the only person getting disillusioned with the club we love?
James Clinch

I hold my hands up to that. I am very sorry about that as it is not a good message to send out to our fans. But we are trying to rectify a mistake.

There are many Premiership London clubs with good players who can not make it into the first team. Why do they go to on loan to teams out of London when we should be getting them like we used to in the older days from teams like Chelsea and Arsenal.
Wayne Butcher

We do try. But they have to be good enough to get into our first team. There's no point spending money on someone who is going to sit on the bench. We have already taken Matthew Hislop, Dominic Shimmin and Shabazz Baidoo from Arsenal.

What are your expectations on the pitch this season?
George Ladd

At the start of the season I thought we were good enough for the play-offs. But we have had a terrible time with injuries. I don't think I have ever seen so many hamstring injuries! I do not think this is the fault of our medical staff, it's just bad luck. If we can have a bit of luck with injuries I hope we may be able to push for a play-off spot.

I am surprised and shocked to see it mentioned that QPR are considering Barbados/ Trinidad & Tobago for a pre season tour. Not that I have anything against that part of the world, but I believe a trip nearer home (ie Ireland) would be more beneficial to the club and rewarding to the faithful supporters.

Brendan Costello

There is a possibility of an end of season tour to Trinidad and Tobago. But I hope it doesn't go ahead because it is at the same time as the play-offs. This is still a long way from being confirmed though.

For pre-season we are looking to take the team to Italy as I have many contacts there. Once again though, this is in a very early stage.

Is it true we are behind with our payments?
David Pratt

We are paying people. In October we paid out £1.2 million. When we took over we found that many of our suppliers hadn't been paid since May. There is a backlog but we are putting a new structure in place. Instead of writing cheques out every day of the week, we will pay our suppliers on the 30th of every month. Therefore they know when they will get paid and we can also budget better.

Will Dan Shittu be sold in January?
Lisa Foulkes

We chased after his signature all summer and he signed a three year deal. I certainly don't want to sell Dan Shittu.

I'm still smarting over the fact that I paid out a lot of money (according to my budget) so I could bring my two daughters to the Coventry game, which I now cannot due to it being moved to the Monday for Sky.

Decisions like this, as well as the fact it meant we go the whole of December without a Saturday home game are exceptionally disappointing, and I'm sure aren't taken lightly, but do the club really hope to gain anything by receiving only £60,000 from Sky, against further disenfranchising loyal supporters?
John McInnes

It is good to get on TV, you get £60,000 plus you get exposure for your sponsors. In our current situation it is very hard to say no to that. We could say no but that is a lot of extra fans we need to get in to make up that money plus we'd have to pay for extra policing for the extra fans.

But I do also understand that our fans are the most important thing to this club. I understand your concern and we will look at this carefully in the future.

People have been talking in the press on your behalf? Why can't you do it yourself?
Ian Jones

I don't ask anyone to talk on my behalf. I don't use e-mail so I always talk with people on the phone. I have many people talk to me and ask my opinions. Perhaps that's why sometimes people post things and think it is me talking.